Christie Ballantyne, MD: Cholesterol Levels During COVID-19

One of the main byproducts of the COVID-19 pandemic is that many individuals began to engage in unhealthy habits, whether it is eating poorly or smoking or drinking more or failing to exercise.

Unfortunately, a year of bad habits along with being difficult to break could have lasting impacts on a person’s overall health, especially their cardiovascular health.

Couple some of the bad habits with a year where many didn’t receive annual checkups or physicals or even see a health care specialist at all and there might be some severe cardiovascular ramifications doctors will soon have to deal with.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Christie Ballantyne, MD, chief of Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine, explained just how damaging the last year of the pandemic may have been and what he suggests are the best solutions moving forward.

Ballantyne said unhealthy lifestyle choices can be especially damaging to not only cholesterol levels, but other aspects of cardiovascular health.

However, there is some hope as many are starting to realize the damage they have done during the unusual year and are reversing some of the decisions in order to promote better cardiovascular health.

Ballantyne also said more patients are beginning to seek checkups with their health care providers.